The Finiteness of Life
by redskiez
Summary: "The finiteness of life. It forces me to appreciate every sunrise."


Unbeta'd.

For Obito's birthday.

* * *

Obito tosses a stone into the pond in front of him. It breaks through the water and sinks to the bottom of the pond. He watches the way the water ripples.

He doesn't turn when Zetsu appears behind him. "Deidara's been looking for you," White Zetsu says. When Obito doesn't reply, he continues. "He's pretty adamant that you go see him right now."

Obito looks down at Zetsu. "Where is he?" he asks.

"Just outside the town," Zetsu replies. "He asked for you first thing."

Obito looks up at the sky. "What time is it?"

"Just a little before five in the morning."

"Hm," Obito hums. "Tell him I'll be there."

"As soon as possible?"

"Just tell him I'll be there."

"Alright, Tobi." Zetsu disappears back into the ground. Obito heaves a breath. He bends down and picks up another pebble, tossing it in the air a few times before he throws it at the pond again. This time, the stone skids across the water and only sinks once it nears the other edge.

But Obito disappears before the stone stops, and it sinks, alone, down to the bottom of the pond.

Obito steps around the building. "Hey, Deidara-senpai," Tobi says. He gives him a little wave. "Were you looking for me?"

Deidara only waves him over. Tobi tilts his head and heads to him. Deidara tosses a clay bird on the ground, activates it, and jumps on. "Come on, hm," Deidara says. He does not offer Tobi any help.

Obito makes a show of struggling to get on the bird. After a few minutes, he positions himself behind Deidara. "Where are we going, senpai?" asks Tobi.

"Nowhere," replies Deidara. "We are just going on a ride, yeah."

"Oh," says Tobi. "Fun."

They take off and soar through the air. It is cold and the sun has not risen yet. Tobi peers across the horizon and sees nothing but miles of gray clouds.

"What are we really doing up here, senpai?" Tobi asks Deidara after a few moments.

"Nothing," Deidara replies.

"Somehow, I'm not really convinced."

Deidara shrugs.

They fly over the edge of the sea. The bird dips and hovers just above the water. Tobi makes a noise.

"Are you going to throw me into the ocean again, senpai?"

"No," Deidara says. He frowns. "When did I ever throw you in the ocean, yeah?"

"You did, once," Tobi replies. "You were really annoyed at me so you pushed me over and into the ocean!"

"I don't remember that," Deidara says. "You're making it up."

"No, I'm not!" Tobi says, distraught. "You really did it!"

Deidara shakes his head. "Whatever," he says. "I'm not going to throw you in the ocean, okay?"

Tobi scratches at his chin, or where his chin should be if he isn't wearing a mask and nods. "Alright," he says. "If you say so, senpai."

The wind howls and Tobi moves closer to Deidara. "I'm cold," he says.

"No, you're not," Deidara replies, but he doesn't move or push Tobi away.

Tobi hums and wraps his arms around Deidara's torso. He rests his chin on Deidara's shoulder and says, "It's nice up here, Deidara-senpai."

"Hm," Deidara mutters. Tobi glances down at his hands, seeing them tense and relax, tense and relax.

"Why are we taking a joy ride, senpai? The sun's not even up."

"Because I feel like it," Deidara says.

"Don't lie to me, senpai," mutters Obito. He moves just a little closer to him. "I can tell you're lying," he says, softer this time.

Deidara suppresses a shiver. He shakes his head. "I don't know what you're talking about, yeah."

Obito shrugs and drums his fingers against Deidara's bicep. "You never want to hang out with me before breakfast."

Deidara scoffs. "I guess I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"I guess you did."

A few moments later, the edge of the sky lights up with color. At first, it is a soft pink color that Obito could barely spot against the gray. Then, it bursts into a pale yellow that turns into a vibrant orange.

The light stretches across the water, the ripples sparkling with each beat of his heart. If Obito stares hard enough, he can see the small pinprick of the sun rising from where the sky and the sea meet.

A flock of seagulls catch up to them and fly by Deidara's clay bird, calling out to each other.

Obito looks back at Deidara. He is looking at the sky, his eyes distant, like he is trying to draw a memory from far away. Obito opens his mouth, wanting to say something, but he finds that his tongue is dry and so he shuts his mouth.

Then, he notices for the first time how the wind flows through Deidara's hair. It brushes his bang from his face and Obito notices something different in his expression. Obito looks away from Deidara and stares ahead, watching the way the clouds fly over their heads.

At the call of another bird, Obito blinks and asks, "Why are we here?"

"Because you need to be here, yeah."

The wind is cold and biting, even as the sun rises higher and higher in the sky, but Obito does not feel the cold at all.

"It doesn't look real, does it, senpai?" Tobi asks.

"Did you just notice?"

"I don't go out that often," Tobi admits. "I never found the reason to."

"The finiteness of life," Deidara says. "It forces me to appreciate every sunrise."

Obito is quiet. He listens to the way the wind howls by his ears. He feels the way the air wraps around them as they fly through it. He watches the sun through the clouds, and the way the yellow light bounces off of them. He looks at the way the blue sea sparkles. He bites his bottom lip and furrows his eyebrows. Obito's hold around Deidara tightens.

"That's fitting," Tobi mutters.

Deidara shakes his head. "That's not what I mean, hm."

Obito scoffs. "I know what you mean." He sighs and turns away. He looks at the other side of the ocean instead, just watching the trees. They too are dusted with a layer of gold.

"I hope you do," Deidara says after a while. Obito jolts when he feels a hand touch the side of his head. He turns to Deidara.

"Why?" Obito asks. "Why today?"

"I think you know why," Deidara replies. "Happy birthday, Tobi, yeah."

Obito tries to look away but Deidara holds him there. "Stop," he says. "There's a reason why you never went out to see the sunrise. I don't know what it is, but I sure as hell know that you shouldn't keep holding on to it, hm."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Obito says.

"I happen to be the most qualified person to talk about how short life can be, yeah." Deidara sighs. "I know what you're doing and it won't work. It won't bring her back, hm."

"You are on thin ice," says Obito through gritted teeth.

"The fact that my life has a beginning, a middle, and end is a really important part of what frames the questions about what I'm doing," Deidara says as if Tobi had said nothing at all. "Living with limitations is precisely what gives life meaning. Life's meanings derive from the challenges we face, and taking away all challenges makes life completely uninteresting."

Obito pauses. He presses his lips into a line. "If you know that it is my birthday," he says, "then why are you bothering me with this?"

Deidara clicks his tongue. He lowers his hand and turns away from Tobi. "It's my present to you," he says. "You needed it."

"I don't need anything."

"Sure, okay."

Deidara lands the bird outside of the town. He disarms the jutsu and the bird reverts back to its original clay form. Obito watches as Deidara pockets the thing.

"Go outside sometime, Tobi," Deidara says. "Maybe you'll realize something if you do. Come find me when you figure things out."

Obito huffs. He watches Deidara turn away from him and enter the little town again. He stands there long after Deidara disappears into a building, and he stands there until the sun is bright and the sky is blue.

Zetsu appears behind him. "Pein's been asking for you."

"Many people look for me," Obito replies.

"So I've been told," Zetsu says. "He still wants to see you."

Obito does not reply immediately, but eventually, he says, "What does he want?"

"He didn't say," Zetsu replies.

"Tell him I will meet him tomorrow," Obito says. "It is my birthday, after all."

"Oh," Zetsu says, "I didn't know. Happy birthday, Tobi."

Obito waves him away. Without checking if Zetsu has left or not, he enters the village and the building where Deidara has disappeared into. He has a birthday to celebrate.

* * *

Hey guys, Red here!

This is for Obito's birthday. I know I am a couple of hours late, don't mind me. I have been in a little block ever since the New Year because I wanted to just enjoy what was happening around me and not being cooped up in a living room in the middle of England.

Now, I wanted to write something for the Chinese New Year but I kept putting it off because of my dissertation work, so I guess that might be stuck in limbo forever.

I just wanted to also note down that I am drunk at the moment and I finished this fic drunk, so don't ask me what anything means until six hours from now.

Thank you for reading! Follow me on Tumblr (redskiez dot net) and I also have a ko-fi (ko-fi dot com forward slash redskiez). Please consider supporting me for what I do and buy me a coffee.


End file.
